Nothing Until the Seventh, Everything in the Ninth

For the first six innings of Sunday’s game between the Toledo Mud Hens and St. Paul Saints, the game was a quiet grind. No scoring, little traffic on the bases, and the occasional flash of defense. It was the kind of game that felt destined to sneak into the box score as a footnote.

Then came the ninth.

The Mud Hens, who had been stifled offensively all evening, erupted just in time to steal a 2-1 win in walk-off fashion. Kevin Newman delivered the decisive swing, singling up the middle to drive in the winning run and send the Toledo crowd into a frenzy.

Pablo López opened strong for St. Paul, holding Toledo hitless through two innings before Newman and Gage Workman strung together base hits in the third. Any momentum fizzled quickly as Parker Meadows struck out and Hao-Yu Lee grounded into a double play.

Meanwhile, Toledo starter Randy Dobnak didn’t light up the strikeout column, but he kept hitters off balance with a mix of sliders and changeups. He limited the Saints to two hits and no runs across five gritty innings before handing the ball to the bullpen.

The stalemate finally cracked in the top of the seventh. Carson McCusker singled, advanced to second on an Akil Baddoo error, and later scored on a Jonah Bride base hit to give the Saints a 1-0 lead.

Toledo’s relievers Kodi Heuer and Tyler Mattison kept the deficit at one, setting the stage for the ninth-inning drama.

Down to their final three outs, the Mud Hens found life. Jace Jung and Baddoo opened the inning with back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners and electrifying the home crowd. After Eduardo Valencia struck out, Trei Cruz came through with a line drive to center that tied the game. That left Newman with a chance to be the hero, and he delivered, slapping a four-seamer back up the middle to score Baddoo and cap the comeback.

The Mud Hens stormed the field, the crowd roared, and what had been a slow Sunday suddenly turned into one of the season’s more memorable finishes.